INDIAN CINEMA AND SOFT POWER

1. Background

• India is an enlightened nation with a vibrant soft power inheritance. The country is vividly conscious of the weight of its cultural engagement and requires putting in little more effort to present its culture fascinating to the corners of the world.
• The following notion of soft power is original and essentially natural which is harmonious with the abundant history of India as both a country of notions and thoughts alongside amicable cultural dissemination. 
• Soft power brought with it an impression of an upright hovering sphere and reliability, which motivated the developing nations across the world after seeing India’s position.

2. What is soft power diplomacy all about

• Power in international relations has traditionally been understood in the context of military and economic might. It is known as Hard power (which is quantifiable) 
• Hard power is deployed in the form of coercion: using force, the threat of force, economic sanctions etc. 
• Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. 
• The three pillars of soft power are political values, culture, and foreign policy. 
• India's Dimensions of Soft Power- Ayurveda, Yoga, Buddhism, Cricket, Culture, Democracy, Diaspora, Entertainment: Bollywood, Food etc.

3. Historical pluralistic soft power possessed by India

• India has an optimistic vision of a relatively pluralistic government, non-violent, and liberal with a non-threatening global leadership. 
• Distinguished personages like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, literature, music, dance, software industry, Ayurveda, etc., produce an extraordinary array of soft power assets that portray the attractiveness of India to the foreign populace. 
• The importance of respect, harmony and fraternity are the essences that Indians are recognized for, with Ashoka, Buddha and Gandhi standing as principal representatives. 
• Mythological epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana are compared with the great Greek writings like Odyssey and Iliad. 
• India was appreciated as the ‘Golden Bird’ between 1 and 1000 AD for its GDP, which was also ahead of China back then. This eventually brought migrants, traders and invaders like ‘Alexander the Great to India.
• Over the centenaries, India has granted shelter, and religious and cultural freedom to Jews, Christians, Muslims and several other faiths. India’s history and culture are her legacies to the world that displays the metamorphosis of India’s chronicles, how India harmoniously assimilated different religions yet never lost track of its own culture and history.

4. Film industry as a soft power and its vital significance

• Films are thought to play a significant role in soft power because it speaks the language of universality and is strongly influenced by a country’s culture, ideology and social practices
• the world is feeling the impact of Bollywood like never before.” Bollywood’s spectacular success can be gauged from the time where Indian Movies made it to the UK Top Ten upon their release to now
• Thus, Indian policymakers have been inspired to include India’s Bollywood in the promotion of its soft power.
• More recently, the Prime Minister of India launched an initiative, namely ‘Change Within’, in 2019 at the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which aims to popularize Gandhi’s ideals through the Indian-film industry, using the power of films to empower people not only in India but around the world: ‘our film and entertainment industry are diverse and vibrant. 
• Its impact internationally is also immense. Our films, music and dance have become very good ways of connecting people as well as societies’ 

5. Recent developments to promote the aspect of Soft Power

• Cinema can play a major role in nation branding initiatives and significant steps taken to promote it as a soft power- Anurag Thakur (Hon.Minister of Information and Broadcasting Govt of India)

• Minister's 2-Day Seminar on ‘Indian Cinema and Soft Power’ Concludes in Mumbai; discusses ways to take forward Indian films to global audiences and discusses India's potential to become a content sub-continent of the world.

5. Role of Movies in International Relations

• From its beginning under British colonial rule through to the heights of Bollywood, Indian cinema represents India’s future. 
• The films have not only raised awareness and challenged social issues, such as the education system, discrimination, gender inequality, domestic violence and poverty, but also have successfully promoted Indian culture and values to the world. 
• Hence, the Chinese reception of Indian films is seen as a positive signal of improving India–China ties, given the sometimes fractious relationship between these two countries.

6. Factors threatening soft power possessed by India

• However, India being a country rich in soft power resources lacks an institutional ecosystem to harness soft power and further its national interests in the international sphere. 
• There have been blemishes due to major quandaries such as corruption, poverty, violence against women, hostility to business, pollution in urban areas, caste discrimination and gender inequality that have made India fare poorly in the elements of national attraction.
• Also, there are numerous factors at play forcing what feels like an underperformance in the Soft Power 30 index for India such as the western bias that places India at a relative disadvantage as advanced economy nations hold a lead. 
• The index is a composite pattern aggregating data across a different range of soft power metrics to create a separate score for every nation. 
• The reduced performance in various sub-indices of the report hauls down a nation’s overall score. 
• However, it doesn’t mean such a country will not have precise might and valuable instruments in its display of soft power assets.
• To conclude, India should figure out its strengths if it wants to resurrect its national image. 
• Its ancient wisdom and spirituality should encourage other nations to acknowledge that India can have a great leadership role in the world.
• India’s ability to tell a “better story” has not been very effective in delivering desired outcomes notably. 

7. Way Forward

• The nation’s potential of soft power if implemented certainly would enhance India’s more exalted position, in making it well disposed and flourishing in the world. 
• In the mounting multipolar global order, India has the potential and holds immense opportunities to elevate its position further as the ‘rising global soft power’ that can further pave the way for the country to become a ‘soft power superpower of the 21st century.